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Comment by Andrew_nenakhov | Hacker News Reader

We have recently registered a company in Estonia. The process was very smooth and easy. All hail Estonia, the small county that could!

(Opening a business bank account is a lot of pain, so there is still room for improvement)

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We have a business bank account with LHV. For us it was as easy as making an appointment, quickly flying there and walking into their main office in Tallinn. After ~30 minutes everything was set up.

That was 3 years ago, though. Maybe things have changed?

Opening bank accounts is more difficult even for locals.

Money laundering scandals with Danske Bank and Swedbank have made it more complicated.

But I guess it is still easier than in other countries.

Were you introduced to the bank by an agent or did you go directly to the bank?

Thing is, we are from Russia. And LHV requires some "proof of our company connection with Estonia economy, like existing contract or utility bills". What proof can there be if the company is just started and not fully operational without bank account (hence, no contracts) and is not physically present in Estonia (hence, no utility bills)?

It sucks being Russian these days because of our warmongering dictator. :-/

I've heard a borderless account with TransferWise can be a quick, painless route

I'd advise to read reviews about TransferWise. They seem to have a very shitty service and non-functional website.

Perhaps but the banking bit works (it's German Handelsbank underneath)

That's what we ended up with. So far the experience itself was good, but unfortunately it does not solve all our banking needs: for example, to receive payouts from Google Play you need your bank to be in the same country that a company is incorporated in. Since TransferWise is in Germany, it just doesn't work for Estonian companies.

We didn't yet publish our software in Apple App Store, but I've heard that it could be a problem there, too.

TransferWise is an Estonian startup btw and works great here.

Probably, but it provides a German IBAN number, and that makes it impossible to use for Google Play payouts

Nope, I opened a business account with them in March this year. Same exact experience like you described.

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